Kitchen utensils such as knives, forks, and spoons have typically been stored in a drawer underneath a countertop. Knives in particular, however, have also been stored in a dedicated block, typically made entirely of wood. Such a storage unit has typically been referred to as a “block” which is descriptive of the overall shape of the unit, as well as the fact that it is a solid compact piece of substantial material. Openings shaped in the form of slots are formed that run vertically down from a top surface and into the block, and in which the knives are inserted blade first.
More recently, the market has seen a knife block that contains multiple sections that appear to be attached to form a unit, where each section has slotted openings to receive either knives or a pair of scissors. The knives have end caps bearing text labels such as “slicer”, “bread”, “utility”, and “paring” that appear to refer to the function of the particular knife.